Jackson County (Mo.)
Historical Society
Portals
to the Past by David W. Jackson
Union
Cemetery Final Resting Place for More than 55,000, Marks 150th
Year (2007)
The
practice of placing flowers on the graves of soldiers originated as early as
1866 among Southern women. A hymn published in 1867, "Kneel Where Our
Loves are Sleeping," by Nella L. Sweet included the line, "To The
Ladies of the South who are Decorating the Graves of the Confederate Dead."
General John A. Logan, as commander-in-chief of the Grand Army of the
Republic (an organization of Union veterans), formalized the Memorial or Decoration
Day commemoration in 1868 (His proclamation, ironically enough, was, Order
No. 11 rekindling unpleasant memories for those who suffered during the
Civil War under another infamous order of the same title). Several
Congressional acts have led us to the Monday Holiday Law, we follow today.
Kansas
City first observed Decoration Day in May 1880 when C. C. Allen marshaled
what became an annual parade. More elaborate services were initiated in 1882
when Major William Warner (later a U.S. Senator), who with his mounted staff,
led veterans followed by women and children carrying flowers as they marched
from 6th and Wyandotte Streets to Union Cemetery and decorated
graves.
Residents
have a unique opportunity this year to gather at Union Cemetery, which is
celebrating its 150th anniversary. This silent city is the final
resting place for more than 55,000 of our predecessors. The Union Cemetery
Historical Society is continually documenting and honoring the lives of those
who rest peacefully within their protected confines.
Imagine
all the local history these souls observed! Fortunately, some recorded their
experiences and their personal papers are preserved in local archives like
the Jackson County Historical Society. A selection of personal stories of
former Kansas Citians resting at Union Cemetery form the basis of lantern-lighted,
guided tours, Voices from the Past: Historical Epitaphs, on June 8, 2007.
Other
long-forgotten Union Cemetery stories I’ve unearthed, but don ‘t have the
space or stomach to relay fully here, include:
●the
ghoulish work of burying paupers, sometimes 3-12 to a single grave, more than
1,400 bodies per acre, many with only a foot of top cover;
●newly
buried corpses being robbed, some later discovered in the morgue of local
medical colleges;
●skeletal
remains surfacing during road construction;
●suicides
and attempted suicides at the gravesites of loved ones recently departed;
●
pickpocket of a former slave of her entire life’s savings while she attended
the funeral of her ex-master;
●Chinese
funerals, and later disinterment of the bodies for shipment to China; and,
●two
undertaker’s horses that, on separate occasions, died at the harness; one of
them had 20 years of drawing a hearse to more than 3,600 funerals.
In
1857, Dr. James W. Hunter deeded land to the private corporation, Union
Cemetery Association. The original, picturesque, 49 acres were situated amid
rolling countryside along the first turnpike west of the Mississippi that
Westport merchants had constructed between their frontier town to its river
port landing, the town of Kansas. The original entrance to the cemetery was
beside the bustling road (today 27th and Main Streets) where a
tollgate charged all north and southbound travelers.
As
development encroached, some small family burying grounds dotting the
landscape consolidated into Union Cemetery. Even the graves in the burying
ground used by the Town of Kansas settlers between 1845 and 1857 were
reinterred at Union Cemetery in 1878 (that vacated parcel located on the city
block between 5th and 6th, Oak and Locust Streets
became Shelley Park for a few years; today it comprises a clover-leaf highway
access).
Within
Union Cemetery’s first 50 years, signs of mismanagement by the Cemetery
Association were apparent by the shocking lack of upkeep. A purported August
1889 fire destroyed the superintendent’s office and all the early cemetery
records…a major loss since many early graves never had tombstones
installed, or were simply demarcated by wooden or limestone markers that have
decayed or become unreadable.
The
invention streetcars and later the automobile led to traffic problems that
plagued city planners needing to extend the street system. As a result,
portions of Union Cemetery were under constant threat of condemnation in the
first quarter of the last century. Then, too, the Cemetery Association sold
18 acres not used or laid off for cemetery purposes at 27th and
Main to keep the venture afloat; the entrance retreated east.
Finally,
Union Cemetery was deeded to the City of Kansas City, Missouri in 1937. The
Board of Parks and Recreation Commissioners are Union Cemetery’s steadfast
caretakers.
Another
fire in October 1985 destroyed the sexton’s cottage once more; by then,
records were stored off-site. The Women in Construction of Kansas City
re-built the cottage, which was rededicated in October 1990, and serves as
the headquarters of the Union Cemetery Historical Society, 227 E 28th
Terrace, Kansas City, MO 64108.
2007
Memorial Weekend Schedule
May 26, 8 a.m.: Scouts install flags at veterans’ graves
May 26, 10-4 p.m.: Sexton’s cottage open
May 27, 8 a.m.: Cemetery opens
May 27, 1-4 p.m.: Sexton’s cottage open
May 28, 8 a.m.: Cemetery opens
May 28, 10-3 p.m.: Sexton’s cottage open
May 28, 11:30: Memorial Day service
150th
Anniversary Celebration Schedule (Cemetery open
June 8 and 9, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.)
June 8, 2007, 8-10 p.m.: Guided
tours featuring, "Voices from the Past: Historical Epitaphs"
Tours guided by lantern to selected graves where actors portraying early Kansas
Citians will read epitaphs of the interred.
June
9, 2007, 9 a.m.: Civil War encampment opens; period-dressed
soldiers will re-enact an historical camp
June 9, 2007, 10-11 a.m.: Commemoration Ceremony: Government officials and historical
societies gather together to pay tribute to the historical significance of
Union Cemetery. Veterans in period dress present a timeline from Civil War
through Vietnam.
June 9, 2007,
11:30 a.m. -1:30 p.m.: Family activities: grave rubbings and cemetery
tours
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